SANDPOINT — After starting the season 3-6, the Sandpoint junior varsity baseball team, which had 11 freshmen this year, recently won 12 straight games to close out a terrific 2024 campaign.

The Bulldogs beat Moscow (9-4, 8-7, 9-3, and 4-1) and Lakeland (12-2, 6-1, 22-6, 13-5) four times each, Lewiston (13-5, 10-8) and Timberlake (11-2 and 17-3) two times each, to finish things out. Their average margin of victory during that span … 7.3 runs per game.

“This was just a fantastic group of kids that completely bought in and had tons and tons of grit,” head coach Brent Eacret said. “Our pitchers were really consistent this year, and when you look at the box scores, we won by just hitting from the top to the bottom of the order. Some of those games were pretty incredible — we weren’t just drawing walks and all — they were really crushing the ball.”

Sandpoint had six players who had over a .250 batting average in at least 20 plate appearances this season: Andrew Aexel (.417), Brennan Shaw (.415), Hayden Miller (.364), Carson Resso (.347), Jack Schriber (.294), Marshal Peters (.286), Bode Eacret (.250). 

The following were team leaders in each respective hitting category: HITS — Brennan Shaw 22; DOUBLES — Brennan Shaw, 7; TRIPLES — Brennan Shaw, 4; HOME RUNS — Carson Resso 1; RBI — Brennan Shaw 21. STOLEN BASES — Jack Schriber, 23; RUNS SCORED — Brennan Shaw, 30; ON BASE PERCENTAGE — Brennan Shaw, .534.

On the mound, four Bulldogs had under a 4.00 ERA with five or more innings pitched: Carson Resso (3.05), Brennan Shaw (3.05), Andrew Aexel (3.32), and Daniel Vincent (3.65).

The following were team leaders in each respective pitching category: INNINGS PITCHED — Daniel Vincent, 23; STRIKEOUTS — Brennan Shaw, 32; STRIKEOUT/WALK — Brennan Shaw 2 to 1.

Eacret said the team this year was special and certainly not a fluke.

“There are some players who might not show up as much on the stat sheet that were really crucial for us down the stretch,” Eacret said. “The real key was that all 15 of these kids were valued and contributed to our success. Yes, we were talented, but we built a culture of camaraderie and everyone bought in. My end goal was not to go 21-0, it was to teach them about how to be a part of a high school team. All-in-all, I thought our coaches did a good job of getting everyone time while being as competitive as possible.”